One of the bikes, a silver replica of a 1970s children's Schwinn Stingray, was his, and he rolled it out for viewing during the Latin American Festival because …

Well, because that's just the kind of vibe the 23rd annual celebration generated, offering people a place to dance, dine or just hang out and admire bikes that brought back memories of childhood.

“I enjoy it,” Mr. Pagan said of the festival.

Carmen D. “Dolly” Vazquez, who has been coordinating the festival for 21 years, said she expected a strong turnout for the event because of favorable weather.

“I just love this day,” she said while taking a lunch break with festival volunteers. “It's like a family. All the workers, we work hard, but we have a good time.”

Entertainment kicked off at 12:30 p.m. with Voces de mi Pueblo, a Springfield-area group composed of musicians from Puerto Rico. Other acts were scheduled throughout the day, with headliner Tony Vega & Orchestra slated to perform at 7:30 p.m.

Yet even before performances began, food vendors began grilling meat, stirring heaping trays of beans and rice, and preparing other delicacies.

The festival also attracted organizations eager to attract new customers or members. Banks and credit unions, health care operations and the Peace Corps handed out literature, shopping bags and trinkets.

UMass Memorial Health Care even inflated a replica of a human colon, large enough to walk through and fitted out with faux polyps. The presence of the “super colon” was a deliberate effort to raise awareness in minority communities about colonoscopy, a procedure that looks for cancer and pre-cancerous growths in the bowel. Just steps away, workers were scheduling patients for colonoscopies.

Wilton Rivas and his family set up a souvenir stand, stocking tables with tote bags embroidered with the names of Latin American countries, rosaries, key chains and other keepsakes. Mr. Rivas, who also operates the Worcester store Souvenir Plus, said he has been attending the Latin American Festival since 2000.

“Yes, it's work,” Mr. Rivas said. “At the same time, we enjoy it.”

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